Ecuadorian Amazon

We had another start Sunday morning for the shortish drive to our next stop in the amazon. The truck was loaded before 7 and breakfast was once again egg related, setting off by 8. Getting out of Quito was quite a challenge though as many of the roads were closed which meant it took longer than expected to reach the main road.

Once out of Quito we got onto some more spectacular mountain passes, driving through increasingly jungle like surroundings. The road was dodgy in places though as some of the barriers and road had collapsed due to landslides! We stopped en route at this lake where we got a few pictures, and I walked down to this little jetty which was nice. We arrived at our lodge in the amazon by lunchtime, where a lunch of grilled chicken and chips was waiting for us! Our accommodation is really nice, staying in these hut things en suite, with even a hammock provided!

We spent the afternoon relaxing, before heading off for a trek into the jungle at 3 to walk to this waterfall. We had a guide, and en route we stopped and learned about various different plants. I didn't really understand what was going on half the time but the plants had fascinating smells and tastes. Like one plant had ants inside which we ate, and another when squeezed let out this potent smell which they tricked into putting into my mouth. Other fascinating plants included this fern which closed its leaves when touching it, and this tree which had this orange substance which they rubbed on our skin which was apparently good for you.

When arriving at the waterfall we had the opportunity to swim. I decided not to go in although a few people braved it. The walk itself was interesting as it was wet and muddy, and slippery in places which made it challenging when going up and down hill. We ended up staying out for about 3 hours hiking, but we didn't go far as we stopped so often to learn about the surroundings. Dinner in the evening was this beef medallion with these croquettes and other stuff, preceded by this mashed potato style soup. We even had this chocolate fudge cake after. I went to bed early though in the evening as lack of sleep was catching up with me!

After an early night Sunday I woke up Monday with a solid 10 hours sleep in the bag which was much needed. It was raining in the morning though. After breakfast which was tropical fruits and fried eggs for a change, with these potato things, we were told to get ready for a 9am start for another walk into the jungle. We continued to learn about plants on the walk, and our guide once again made various silly things like hats and bracelets for us out of leaves for us to wear. There were even opportunities to swing on these vines which was fun. It wax once again very slippery underfoot although they have supplied us with wellington boots for the duration of our stay.

We eventually arrived at this cave which were able to explore. It was effectively a stream but absolutely fine to walk through in wellies. We were in there for quite a while and needed torches, which I didn't have but it was fine. The issue was there were lots of massive spiders on the wall, and even bats inside. Some of the passes were slightly narrow but there were never a time I had to crawl and it was very interesting exploring. We exited the cave in a different place. When leaving the cave we walked back to the lodge, via this waterfall where we had the chance we swim again. It was nice however just standing nearby and letting the mist hit me as it very humid!

We arrived back at the lodge shortly before lunch where we had this traditional pastry thing, then this popcorn soup which sounds weird but worked, followed by steak with all sorts on the side, and this pineapple thing after. I wasn't really expecting a four course lunch but it was good. I then sat the afternoon relaxing by the pool, before getting ready for a trip to another set of caves which we left to visit at 3.
To get to the next set of caves we got in the truck for a 20 minute drive to visit them. A few people decided not to visit these ones and relax at the lodge. These caves were a lot bigger but also a wetter and required swimming in places. Once entering the cave and swimming through the water, we soon climbed up through some tight passages, with no need to crawl, where we sat down after a while and learned about the religious significance of the caves, and even had a  minutes silence. We then headed back to the water and followed the water up to this waterfall where we allowed to enter it. The first one was this plunge pool which I dived about 5 metres down this tight hole to pick up this gravel at the bottom. The second part was a chance to jump into the pool which I fell off and banged my leg after misjudging my step, although I was fine. We finally exited the caves by scrambling up these rocks and coming out in the jungle.

After walking back to truck we went in the local swimming pool filled by the natural green water. It was very exciting as there were water slides which were lots of fun. We ended arriving back at the lodge by like 6. Dinner in the evening was another soup, followed by this chicken based meal, and then this flan. After dinner though was exciting as we got to learn how to make chocolate. We roasted the cocoa beans and after they were nice and hot peeled the shells off them. We then had to crush up the insides into this powder, and then mix in some milk and sugar and heat it again into this thick melted chocolate mix. We then added our choice of flavour, so I added honey and it tasted amazing! The evening was then spent relaxing, although it was raining again. We were in rainforest with respect.

Tuesday was another full on day, with breakfast at 7.30 for an 8am start. Breakfast was pancakes and eggs, with tropical fruits. We went out in the truck when everyone was ready and drove to this indigenous village where we learned about their lifestyle. The first part took us to the river where we panned for gold. There was actually gold but in minuscule amounts after filling a bowl with mud and cleaning it out. We then went into the village where we learned about their hunting techniques. We got to use this big tube thing which fired an arrow when blowing inside it. We had to try and hit this wooden parrot. I missed but not by far.

We then learned how to make this drink which was called chisa or something.  It was basically made by boiling some yucca and then mashing it up into this paste. After adding water it was wrapped inside this leaf and left for 3 days. Luckily they skipped this step for us and the final drink was this milky coloured liquid which tasted really sweet. We then learned about how they made pottery and got to play with the clay. They used different coloured stones which they crushed to powder to colour their pottery and the final pieces were very impressive. 

After leaving the village, we continued our drive to the river Napu where we got on a boat for a trip down the river. They were basically big canoes with a roof and motor. The river Napu is a tributary to the river Amazon. We didn't see much wildlife en route, although we did travel through jungle and along brown murky water, with some gentle rapids along the way! We stopped after a while at this animal rescue centre where we got to see various animals including monkeys, anaconda, camon, and wild cats. It was very interesting.

After looking round we got back into the boats and headed back upstream which was actually quite challenging against the flow. The boat I was on even hit a rock at one point which was sketchy. We didn't end up arriving back until 3 where we had lunch, beef stew, before driving off to the town of Misahualli which is known to have monkeys roaming round. The monkeys basically couldn't be bothered to live in the jungle anymore so came to the town. We saw quite a few although they wouldn't stay still!

 We arrived back at the lodge at close to 6 so it was quite a long day. Dinner in the evening was soup, this vegetable bake thing, and this fruit salad. Everyone was going on about the us election though which was interesting.